Automatically releasable ski binding



May 21, 1957 H, ECKEL 2,793,046

AUTOMATICALLY RELEASABLE SKI BINDING Filed June 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 21, 1957 v EcKEL 2,793,046

. AUTOMATICALLY 'REVLEASABLE SKI BINDING Filed June 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q/ w Attorney 2,793,046 AI ITOMATICALLY RELEASABLE SKI BINDING Heinrich Eckel, Munich, Germany Appiication June 25, 1954, Seriai No. 439,467 Claims priority, application Germany November 23, 1953 Claims. (Cl. 280-1135) In order to prevent or minimize the risk of foot injuries to the skier when falling safety ski bindings have become known which automatically open or undo when overstrain occurs. This has sometimes been achieved by a special construction of the binding cheeks. Another type of tightener is also known, which is inserted in the binding straps and disposed at the boot heel. This tightener, consisting essentially of a closely wound helical spring and a tightener lever, opens automatically on overstrain.

The invention relates to a ski binding having a cable extensible by means of a front tightener and embracing the heel of the boot. In order to achieve the automatic opening or undoing of a ski binding of this type, it is proposed according to the invention that in the case of overstrain of the cable a release element brings about the automatic opening of the front tightener by cooperation with a movable component of the front tightener. The release element can press from below on to a movable part of the front tightener so that the front tightener is moved or rocked into its opening position. A release element moving when overstrain occurs on the cable can cooperate, for example, with the tightener lever, or with the tension member of the front tightener in which the encircling cable of the ski binding engages directly or indirectly and which is pivotally connected in manner known per se to the front tightener. By means of these different possibilities of arrangement there is obtained the advantage that the release path of the release element can be made as small as desired. Since a smaller release path produces greater sensitivity, the release arrangement can be adaptedto different requirements.

For a ski binding in which the cable acts upon a spring-biased rod led in the tension member of the front tightener, the release element can cooperate with the rod. The release element can, however, also be disposed on the rod. In this case there is the advantageous possibility of dividing the helical spring known per se and disposed on the rod into two pieces, the opening agent lying between the two parts of the spring. It is possible further to regulate or adjust the sensitivity of the releasing gear by the length of the two parts of the helical spring.

Further features of the invention are evident from the following description of exemplified embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show a complete binding arranged on a ski, respectively from the side and from above.

Figure 3 shows to a larger scale the front tightener according to Figures 1 and 2 in the closed position, seen from the side.

Figure 4 shows a cross section taken on line 44 in Figure 3, the cable rod being omitted.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 shows another construction of a front tightener arranged on the ski, seen from the side in partial section.

States Patent- Figure 7 shows a cross section taken on line 7--7 in Figure 6.

The ski binding in Figures 1 to 4 consists of the cheeks 2 connected firmly to the ski 1 and the encircling cable 3, the front end of which is connected to the front tightener. The front tightener itself consists of the base plate 4 screwed fast to the ski 1, which base plate in the example illustrated is formed at the front into a U-shaped guide 4'. The tightener lever 5 is rotatably connected to the two laterally turned up flanges 4 of the base plate 4 by small bolts or rivets 6. In the rear forked part of the tightener lever there engages a tension member 7, which is pivotally connected by small bolts or rivets 8 with the tightener lever 5. The front part of the tightener lever 5 is of U-shaped cross-section open at the bottom. In the rear cap-like end of the tension member 7 is supported a helical compression spring 9, which is disposed on a rod 10 guided in the member 7. The rod 10 is connected at the back in any suitable manner to the cable 3 and has a rotatable nut 11 at the front, which forms a thrust support for the helical spring 9.

The front end of the rod 10 is guided. in the guide 4' of the base plate 4 by means of a slide 12 in the longitudinal direction of the ski. The cable rod 10 extends through a hole in the vertically disposed flange 12 at the rear end of the slide 12. By rotation of the nut 11 the tension of the helical spring 9 can be adjusted.

In order to bring the front tightener lever 5 automatically into its opening position when overstrain occurs, the slide 12 is constructed as a release element. The slide 12 has at its front end a flange 13, for example bent upwards vertically, which, as is clear from Figure 3, is curled over at the top or is provided with an abutment 14in any other suitable manner. The abutment 14 corresponds in width at least'to that of the tightener lever 5, as is clear from Figure 4. It can also be seen from Figure 4 that the parts 13, 14 of the slide are provided in their centre with a recess 15 to allow the passage of the cable rod 10 when this extends farther forwards than is shown in Figure 3 in the case of a greatly tensioned spring.

In the closing movement of the front tightener lever 5 and in the case of normal cable strain during skiing,

' the rod 10 and thus also the slide 12 are moved back only such distance that the abutment 14 does not come into contact with the tightener lever 5. In the case of overstrain, however, the slide will be moved farther back by the cable rod 10, so that the abutment 14 will now lie against the lower cam-shaped edges 16 of the front tightener lever 5. Since these lever edges 16 run downward towards the rear, rocking of the tightener lever 5 about its axis of rotation 6 will occur in the case of further backward movement of the abutment 14, which rocking movement is shown in Figure 3 by an arrow. As soon as there has occurred through the action of the abutment 14 an opening rocking of the lever 5 of such magnitude that the axis of pivot 8 is located above the axis of rocking 6, complete opening of the front tightener automatically takes place through the stressed helical spring 9. The encircling cable 3 is then released and liberates the ski boot. In Figure 3 the abutment 14 is shown in a position immediately prior to its action on the tightener lever 5.

Figures 6 and 7 show another form of construction. In the drawing those parts which correspond to the exemplified embodiment described above are marked with the same reference numerals. A slide 17 likewise constructed as a release element here cooperates with the tension member 7, instead of with the tightener lever 5. The vertically disposed flange 17, accommodating the hole for the cable rod 10, at the rear end of the slide 17 is provided at the top with a bent over edge 17", which corresponds in width at leastl' to the width of the tension member 7. Moreover, the helical compression spring disposed on the rod Ill'is divided into two parts 9*, 91', between which the vertical flange 17 ofthe slide 17 isdi'sposed, that is to say, the two ends facing, one another of the helical spring parts are both, supportedon the release element. Since the release element is slidable, the entire length ofthe two parts ofth'e spring 9', 9" is available for the tension of the cable. v

.VVhen an overstrain occurs, the release element 17, 17", is likewise moved back the backwardly moving cable rod 10, while the edge, 117" an covering a certain distance cooperates with the lateral downwardly and rearwardly inclined carnmed edges 7 of the tension member 7 The front end of the tension member 7 is thereby moved upwards. At the same time the pivot S between the tension member 7 and the tightener lever 5 is moved upwards. As soon as the axis of pivot 8 reaches, or slightly exceeds, the height of thepivot axis 6, the tcnsion member 7 and the tightener lever 5 are, by the ferceof the greatly strained spring 9', 9", thrown by sudden shock into the opened position illustrated in Figure 6 by the dashed lines. The encircling cable is thereby slackened, and the boot of the skier liberated from the binding. v I

In order that the great forces occurring when the front tightener opens with a sudden shock should not produce any permanent deformation of the tightencr components 5 and 7, an elastic shock absorber 18 can be fixed on the top of the tension member 7 in any suitable manner. T he edge indicated by 5 of the tightener lever 5 strikes against this shock absorber, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 6.

By the choice of'the length of the parts 9, 9" of the spring, the position of the release element in the position of rest can be determined or varied, so that there is the possibility of regulating or adjusting the size of the release path and thus the sensitivity of the entire release gear.

The part 9' of the spring situated at the front could naturally also be omitted if the length of the part 9" of the helical spring is suflicient.

I claim:

1. A ski binding comprising a cable engageable around the heel of a boot, a lever pivotable on a fixed axis for tightening said cable about said boot heel, a tension member pivoted on said lever about an axis parallel to the piv otal axis of the lever, a cable release element slidable longitudinally of the ski, a rod attached to the front end of said cable and guided in said tension member and said cable release element, compression spring means interposed between said tension member and said cable release element, and means for coupling said rod to said cable release element, the lever and the tension member together forming a device by which the cable can be automatically locked in its tightened condition, and said release element being engageable, in the event of overstrain on the cable, with cam means associated with said cable locking device thereby to rock said lever and ten sion member in a direction to release the lock on the cable.

2. A ski binding comprising a cable engageable around the heel of a boot, a lever pivotable on a fixed axis for tightening said cable about said boot heel and having camshaped edges thereon, a tension member pivoted on said lever about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of the lever, a cable release element slidable longitudinally of the ski, a rod attached to the front end of said cable and guided in said tension member and said cable release element, a helical compression spring coiled about said rod and interposed between said tension member and said cable release element, and means for coupling said rod to said cable release element, the lever and the tension member together forming a device by which the cable can be automatically locked in its tightened condition, and said release element being engageable in the event of overstrain on the cable, with the said cam-shaped edges of said lever thereby to rock the lever and the tension member in a direction to release the lock on the cable.

3. A ski binding as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cable rod is screw-threaded, a nut thereon abutting against the release element to allow for adjustment in the compression force of the spring and thus the tightening ofthe cable.

, 4. A ski binding comprising a cable engageable around the heel of a boot, a lever pivotable on a fixed axis for tightening said cable about said boot heel, a tension member pivoted on said lever about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of: the lever and having cam-shaped edges thereon, a cable release element slidable longitudinally of the ski, a rod attached to the front end of said cable and guided in said tension member and said cable release element, a helical compression spring coiled about said rod and interposed between said tension member and said cable release element, and means for coupling said rod to said cable release element, the lever and the tension member together forming a device by which the lever can be automatically locked in its tightened condition, and said release element being engageable, in the event of overstrain on the cable, with the said cam-shaped edges of said tension member thereby to rock the tension member and the lever in a direction to release the lock on the cab-1e.

5. A ski binding as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cable rod is screw-threaded, a not being provided thereon and a second helical compression spring coiled about said rod being interposed between said nut and the release member to allow for adjustment in the compression force of the springs and thus the tightening of the cable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,176,226 Reed Oct. 17, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 176,166 Austria Sept. 25, i953 840,647 France Ian. 23, 1939 932,887 France Dec. l, 1947 198,615 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1938 207,306 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1940 239,164 Switzerland Dec. 17, 1945 255,732 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1949 

